1. Field of the Invention
The present inventions generally pertain to seals, and more particularly to an improved seal design to improve seal integrity and the life of the seal in harsh environments.
2. Description of the Related Art
Seals are used in many different environments and industries to prevent fluid leakage. For example, in the oil and gas industry, devices known as rotary selector valves may be connected to a plurality of hydrocarbon production inlet flow lines and used to selectively divert the fluid stream from one of those flow lines through a test outlet port to allow for testing of the contents of that fluid stream. An example of such a rotary selector valve is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,641 (“the '641 patent”), a commercial embodiment of which has been manufactured by National Certified Fabricators, Inc., of Corona, Calif. As shown for example in FIG. 3 of the '641 patent, the rotary selector valve is provided with a reciprocating seal assembly 88/100 adapted for movement between sealed and non-sealed positions. The seal assembly is moved into its sealed position with the selected inlet port to divert the selected flow stream for testing as discussed above. As will become apparent from the following descriptions and discussion, the present inventions are directed to an improved seal design that can be used in a variety of environments, one non-limiting example of which is in a rotary selector valve as discussed above.